The present invention relates generally to apparatus for disassembling or stripping wooden pallets, and more particularly to a novel pallet stripper apparatus adapted to automatically accommodate variations in pallet size while simultaneously stripping the pallet boards from the runners.
In recent years, the cost of hardwood lumber for use in pallet construction has increased dramatically. As a result, damaged and used pallets which have heretofore frequently been disposed of without concern for salvage of any components have been subject to greater discretion and salvage efforts. Thus, recycling of pallets so as to enable reuse of both the salvageable longitudinal runners or stringers and the transverse pallet boards has become an economic expedient. The necessity for salvaging reusable components of pallets is expected to become more critical in the future due to both depletion of the sources of hardwood and the cost of hardwood.
Another factor which plays an important role in the decision of whether to salvage a pallet is the labor factor. It will be appreciated that where substantial manual labor time is necessary to disassemble a pallet, the cost of such manual labor may become prohibitive. In an attempt to overcome these problems, machines have been developed to disassemble wooden pallets which eliminate much of the hand labor previously required. A significant drawback in the known pallet disassembling or stripping machines is that they are generally incapable of self-adjustment to accommodate different size pallets, or are relatively complex in construction and therefore costly to manufacture.